Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI)
Swachh Bharat Awards: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission gave away the Swachh Bharat Awards to mark the day during an event at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. These awards have been given to those people who actively took part in the Swachhata Hi Seva movement that was initiated a fortnight ago and ended today on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. While addressing the gathering PM Modi talked about the challenges faced by the people in the country and said, “India faces challenges but that does not mean we run away from them. We will face them and work to overcome them.” He then talked about the Swachh Bharat Mission and said, “The dream of a Swachh Bharat will be realised by 125 crore Indians, not a select group of leaders or officials.” He added, “Swachh India won’t come true even if 1000 Mahatma Gandhis, 1 lakh Narendra Modis, all CMs & governments come together, it’ll be done by 125 cr Indians”.
PM Narendra Modi said, “India has accepted the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. The movement has become a people’s movement due to the ‘Siddhi’ of Swachhagrahis.” He added, “A positive spirit of competition has been created due to Swachh Bharat Mission. We see this in the cleanliness rankings, how organisations are working on cleanliness.” PM Modi further went on to talk about the motive with which this mission was initiated and said, “The Swachh Bharat Mission is about both ‘Vyavastha’ (systems) and ‘Vichar’ (thought process and mindset).”
Towards the end, PM Modi congratulated all the people who actively took part in the movement and contributed towards the initiative. He said, “I congratulate all those who supported and took part in the #SwachhataHiSeva movement. I keep saying- this is the start. We should continue the momentum built by the movement.”
Earlier in the day, PM took to Twitter and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. He wrote, “I bow to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. His noble ideals motivate millions across the world.” He later went on to pay tribute to the father of the nation at Raj Ghat.
